In the Heart of the Beat: The Poetry of Rap (African American Cultural Theory and Heritage) - Hardcover

Pate, Alexs

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810860082 ISBN 13: 9780810860087

Publisher: Scarecrow Press, 2009

Synopsis

Despite its extraordinary popularity and worldwide influence, the world of rap and hip hop is under constant attack. Impressions and interpretations of its meaning and power are perpetually being challenged. Somewhere someone is bemoaning the negative impact of rap music on contemporary culture. In In the Heart of the Beat: The Poetry of Rap, bestselling author and scholar Alexs Pate argues for a fresh understanding of rap as an example of powerful and effective poetry, rather than a negative cultural phenomenon.

Pate articulates a way of "reading" rap that makes visible both its contemporary and historical literary values. He encourages the reader to step beyond the dominance of the beat and the raw language and come to an appreciation of rap's literary and poetic dimensions. What emerges is a vision of rap as an exemplary form of literary expression, rather than a profane and trendy musical genre. Pate focuses on works by several well-known artists to reveal in rap music, despite its penchant for vulgarity, a power and beauty that is the heart of great literature.

About this title

About the Author:

Alexs Pate is Associate Professor of African American and African studies at the University of Minnesota. Pate is the best-selling author of Amistad: A Novel Based on the Screenplay and Losing Absalom, which received a Minnesota Book Award and was named Best First Novel by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

From Publishers Weekly:

According to African American and African studies scholar Pate, rap is not just the emergent African American literary form of the postmodern age, but is responsible for scores of young people improbably embracing all the traditional and nontraditional poetic conventions of the English language (through a mix of cultural osmosis, miming, and instinct). Though he isn't quite able to justify a comparison between the phenomenon of rap and Gutenberg's invention of moveable type, Pate presents a strong case for the artistic and cultural importance of rap, analyzing lyrics and artists from multiple angles. Sizing up classic literary works from stalwarts like Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou and others alongside stanzas from rap songs, Pate finds eerie similarities in tone, message and style. He also contrasts the work of contemporaries within the genre, such as the straightforward pop of Young MC against the politically strident work of Public Enemy, examining rap's ability to offer a visceral, vital take on society-and to dive headfirst into society's most extreme indulgences. More than willing to admit the paucity of garbage mixed among the real art (as in any creative endeavor), Pate is also upfront about the role of profanity and misogyny in many compositions. Though he may court snoozing when he delves into more academic concerns like rhyme structure, this warts-and-all study of one of the preeminent art forms of today is vital and compelling, especially for dedicated listeners.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0810860082
• ISBN 13: 9780810860087
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176